With all the training camp chatter about who's going to center Minnesota's top line, the Wild's alleged "second line" has been overshadowed.
Wednesday night, the Brian Rolston-Eric Belanger-Pierre-Marc Bouchard trio served up another September reminder that there's plenty of offense to go around.
Rolston scored two goals to give him five in three exhibition games and Belanger scored a goal and two assists as the Rolston-Belanger-Bouchard line combined for eight points in a 7-0 blowout of the St. Louis Blues.
"We have some good chemistry," said Belanger, a free-agent pickup from the Atlanta Thrashers. "We know where each other are on the ice. [Coach] Jacques [Lemaire] likes the center to be high, but I don't feel uncomfortable when I go down.
"When I feel I have the chance, I'm going down because I know one of the two other guys are going to back me up. We're reading off of each other really good."
In fact, the reason Lemaire is searching for a center to play between Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik is because Belanger, originally slated to be there, has displayed such sensational chemistry with Rolston and Bouchard.
The threesome has 16 points this preseason, and Belanger showed off his speed, shot and passing ability all in one game Wednesday.
"A lot of people didn't talk about him too much," Rolston said of Belanger. "It was like, 'We got this guy, who is he?' But you can tell he's a great player. He's just going to add a lot to our team."
Mark Parrish and Demitra also scored two goals apiece as the Wild improved to 4-1 with two games left before next Thursday's opener against Chicago. Niklas Backstrom made 18 saves for the shutout.
Lemaire again loved the Parrish-Mikko Koivu-Branko Radivojevic line, saying, "Depends on the night, my third line could be the first line."
Still, it should be noted, the Blues' lineup was not representative of their real team while the Wild essentially played its regulars. The Blues left Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Lee Stempniak, Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman in St. Louis.
Benoit Pouliot, who turns 21 Saturday, got to center Gaborik and Demitra on Wednesday and looked quite comfortable. He didn't register a point, but Pouliot was a presence in all three zones, just missing on three legit scoring chances.
His most impressive play came in the first period. Pouliot gained possession in the defensive zone, hit Demitra at center ice and drove up the middle. Continuing to the net, Pouliot stole the puck from Bryce Salvador to give himself a partial break and just whistled a backhander wide.
After playing a strong game Monday against Buffalo, Pouliot was challenged to deliver another. After Wednesday's game, Lemaire said Pouliot would play again Friday in St. Louis.
"The last two games, I have to tell you, he's made huge progress. Huge," Lemaire said. "Now he looks like a player. Before I didn't know. He had the 'p' but not the rest."
Lemaire also praised defenseman Shawn Belle, 22.
"It's the first game I really appreciate what he did. More intense. You can't be on the bubble and not be intense and that's what he was in the past. A kid like that, he's strong, he's big, he's got good legs. So he's got to show his life on the ice."
Michael Russo • mrusso@startribune.com
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